Dental appliance.



T. CRAIG, in.

DENTAL APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 5. 1915.

1,137,55 Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

Th; NORRIS PETERS Co.. FHOTO-LITI-Kl, WASHING TUN. D. C.

DENTAL APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

Application filed. February 5, 1915. Serial No. 6,324.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THORNTON CRAIG, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dental Appliances, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to dental appliances, and has for its object the provision of a device adapted to be applied to a patients mouth whereby the tongue will be depressed and held out of the way and against movement while a tooth is being treated, and whereby rolls of cotton or other absorbent material may be held under and at the sides of the tongue for absorbing the saliva and preventing it from access to the tooth or teeth being treated.

More specifically, the object of the invention is the provision of a clamp adapted to engage the tongue and rolls of cotton beside the tongue and also engage the chin, the device being contractile to force the tongue down, a ratchet mechanism being provided for holding the contracted parts against expansion until manually released by the operator.

An important object is the provision of arms detachably connected with the body of the device and adapted to extend between the teeth and the cheek for holding the cheek away from the teeth and also for holding absorbent material between the teeth and cheek for absorbing the saliva flowing from the ducts in the cheek opposite the molars.

A further object is the provision of a device of this character which has its tongue engaging member provided with an opening for the insertion of a saliva ejector.

With these and other objects and advantages in view such as simplicity in construction, cheapness in manufacture, durability, efficiency and the general improvement of the art, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device showing the detachable arms in place, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the chin en? gaging member of my device as a whole which is formed spatulate and slightly concave at one end as shown at 2 for engagement beneath the patients chin. At its other end the member 1 has its sides bent upwardly to form ears 3 which in turn terminate in other spaced ears 4.

The tongue engaging member is designated as a whole by the numeral 5 and comprises an arm 6 terminating at its lower end in ears 7 disposed between the ears 3 of the member 1 and pivotally connected therewith by a transverse pin 8. The other end of the arm 6 terminates in a concave spatulated member 9 adapted to engage the top of a patients tongue and provided with an opening 10 for the insertion of a saliva e ector.

The members 1 and 5 are normally urged apart by a coil spring 11 surrounding the pin 8 and having its ends pressing against the member 1 and the arm 6.

In order that when the member 5 is pressed toward the member 1 it may be held against springing up again, I provide the arm 5 with a ratchet bar 12 engaged by a pawl 13 pivoted between the ears 4 by a pin 14. The pawl is provided with a thumb piece 15 whereby it may be released from engagement with the ratchet bar 12 to permit the spring 11 to move the members 1 and 5 apart.

Secured upon or formed upon the arm 6 adjacent the spatulate member 9 are transverse strips 16 which are beveled upon their opposing edges to form a dovetailed groove as shown. Arms 17 shaped as shown have their angularly extending ends 18 beveled upon their edges to fit within the groove formed by the strips 16. The purpose of these arms will become apparent later.

The use of the device is as follows: A cotton roll is placed on each side of the patients tongue next to the teeth. The spatulate member 9 is then placed over the tongue and cotton rolls and the member 2 is placed beneath the chin. The operator then presses down upon the member 9 until the tongue and rolls are depressed and firmly in place, after which the pawl 13 is engaged with the ratchet bar 12, whereupon the members 1 and 5 will be prevented from separation and the tongue will be held rigidly in place. The next step is to place a roll of cotton between the teeth and the shock on the desired side, depending upon which side of the mouth is to be treated. The corresponding arm 17 is then placed over this cotton roll and its end 18 engaged between the strips 16, whereupon the arm 17 will hold the roll firmly in place between the teeth and cheek so that the cheek will be prevented from contact with the teeth and the saliva will be absorbed as it is secreted. If desired, both arms 17 may be placed in position as shown in Fig. 1. A saliva ejector may then be placed in the opening 10 in the tongue engaging member 9 for carrying away the saliva from the I tongue.

To remove the device it is merely necessary to press upon the thumb piece 15 to disengage the pawl 13 from the ratchet bar 12, whereupon the spring 11 will cause the device to open.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is: V

1. A device of thecharacter described comprising a member spatulated at one end for engagement with a patients chin, an arm pivotally connected therewith and spatulated at its free end for engagement with the tongue, a pair of arms detachably mounted on said arm and extending laterally and then substantially parallel with said tongue engaging member, a spring forcing said member and said last named arm normally apart, a ratchet bar on said last named Copies of this patent may be obtained for arm and a pawl pivoted on said member and engageable with said ratchet bar.

2. The combination with a tongue depressing device comprising a chin engag ing member and an arm pivoted thereon and terminating in a tongue engaging member, of a pair ofspaced strips on said arm and having their opposing edges angular, and a pair of arms detachably engageable with said strips and extending laterally and then substantially parallel with said tongue engaging member.

3. The combination with a tongue depressing device comprising a chin engaging member and an arm pivoted thereon and terminating in a tongue engaging member, of a pair of spacedstrips on and extending trans; versely of said arm intermediate its ends and having their opposing edges beveled inwardly, and a pair of arms, having their edges adjacent one end beveled, detachably and independently engageable between said strips, said. arms extending laterally and forwardly substantially parallel withfand on a lowerfplane than said tongue engaging member.

In testimony whereolf I hereto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THORNTON CRAIG, J-R. Witnesses:

A. L. KREUZBERGER, THOMAS TIPPITT.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner oi. Patents,

Washington, D. G. i 

